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Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Pickle Jar Lanterns

The people living in darkness have seen a great light. Matthew 4:16

In some ways maybe this craft is more suited for Christmas, but it's my way of reminding myself (and trick-or-treaters who come up our steps) on a day with a lot of focus on evil that Christ (the Light) has overcome the darkness.

Despite its somewhat subversive message, the lanterns really do fit in to the typical halloween decor with their glowing orange letters inside of jet black exteriors. Plus, they were super easy and cheap to make! I'm thinking of making some more for Christmas- perhaps with silhouetted nativity scenes.

Here's how I put these together:

1. I removed the sticky labels from 4 pickle jars and a wheat germ jar (ran out of pickle jars) using Goo-Gone.2. Next, I wrote the verse across the jars using scrapbook lettering (actually bought the letters for 10 cents at a garage sale!).3. I then covered the jars with black spray paint. A more patient person than me would have done this in several coats, but since they were going to be out at night, I figured no one would probably see the drips if I just did one heavy coat.4. I also did a very light coat of spray paint on the inside of the jars to disperse the light a little with the haze. (If you accidentally make drips that distort the letters this way, you can take a knife and scrape off the dripped paint)5. I carefully removed the scrapbook letters and touched up the letters left on the jar with my thumbnail.6. Finally, I placed a candle inside of each and set them on our front steps.IMPORTANT: Do not light the candles until the spray paint is completely dry- a good couple of hours at least. The fumes from spray paint are extremely flammable. If you try to light your candles when there are any lingering fumes you might set your house on fire- like I almost did!

An encouraging side note-- As some of you may have guessed, I am more of an idea person than a craft person. Translation: I am sloppy, sloppy when it comes to precise measurements, etc. If I attempt a craft and it turns out half-way decent, a normal crafter is likely to have much prettier results!